New Zealand and Australian officials have weighed in on China's growing influence in the Pacific, in light of news Kiribati is set to open up a valuable marine reserve for commercial fishing and development.
Meeting for bilaterals, foreign ministers Nanaia Mahuta and Marise Payne had different opinions on the issue.
"Australia will always protect our sovereignty, our interests, our security," Payne said, while New Zealand's foreign minister was focussed on a different threat.
"The big issue for the whole of the Pacific is the issue of sea level rise and how that'll affect countries like Kiribati," Mahuta said.
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Payne said Australia was seeking further information on Kiribati's decision to open up its marine reserve for commercial fishing.
One of the protected islands in PIPA - The Phoenix Island Protected Area - is Kanton, a former US territory which China has recently provided funding for to upgrade its airstrip.
There are concerns about the implications China's rising influence in the Pacific may have.
"There will be concerns that this move - the lifting of PIPA - could lead to China having greater leverage in Kiribati and that may have geo-strategic implications," Massey University security and defence lecturer Anna Powles told 1News.
The Kiribati Government has yet to respond to 1News' queries but unless Cabinet does a U-turn on its decision it will head to Parliament where the local PIPA legislation will be repealed and the process to de-register it as a World Heritage Site will begin.
